PIMA COUNTY — The Pima County Safety and Justice Challenge is the recipient of a $1.8 million grant by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to continue building on efforts to advance local criminal justice system reform and safely reduce Pima County’s jail population, bringing the Foundation’s total investment in Pima County to $3.3 million to date. The grant is part of the Safety and Justice Challenge, a $157 million national initiative to reduce over-incarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails.

The Safety and Justice Challenge is supporting local leaders in Pima County and across the country determined to tackle one of the greatest drivers of over-incarceration in America – the misuse and overuse of jails. Pima County was first selected to join the collaborative Safety and Justice Challenge Network in 2015 and has since used the resources and funding provided by the Challenge to implement bold reforms, including Warrant Resolution Courts on nights and weekends; pre-trial screenings; an automated call, text and email court-date reminder system; creation of a multi-disciplinary criminal justice jail population review committee and probation jail reduction committee, creation of a “data team” focusing specifically on criminal justice issues; enhanced case processing; increased community engagement including listening sessions with regional tribal nations and improved job training and workforce development for inmates.

Today, Pima County was one of six jurisdictions selected for additional funding based on the promise and progress of work to date. This new round of funding will provide Pima County and partners with additional support and continued expert technical assistance to strengthen and expand strategies that address the main drivers of local jail incarceration, with the goal of finding appropriate alternatives to incarceration, such as treatment and counseling and further reducing Pima County’s average daily jail population from a jail capacity of 2377 to a 1574 average daily population by 2021.

“It has been very gratifying, but not surprising, to see the remarkable level of cooperation and collaboration between the MacArthur Foundation, Pima County and our partners from all aspects of the criminal justice system and the community as a whole,” County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said. “There’s been a real leadership at all levels and real commitment to find solutions and, when necessary, make tough choices.”

In partnership with local law enforcement, the courts, prosecutors and defense attorneys, the treatment community, tribal nations, religious leaders and concerned members of the community, including formerly incarcerated individuals, Pima County has developed a comprehensive plan for additional reform strategies over the next two years. Key strategies and initiatives to achieve this goal and create a safer, more effective system include:

• Improving court processing to increase efficiency
• Reducing racial and ethnic disparities

Three years after its public launch, the Challenge Network has grown into a collaborative of 52 counties, cities, and states modeling and inspiring reforms to create fairer, more effective local justice systems across the country.

“There is a growing demand for criminal justice reform to bend the curve of incarceration in the United States and achieve fairer, more equitable outcomes for our families and communities,” said Laurie Garduque, MacArthur’s Director of Justice Reform. “While progress is not always easy, jurisdictions across the country are proving it is possible to rethink local justice systems from the ground up with forward-looking, smart solutions that address racial and ethnic disparities while engaging communities in reform efforts. MacArthur is increasing our investment in these cities and counties because we are seeing promising results and an appetite for more reform as evidenced by the diversity and creativity of the solutions implemented and tested across the Challenge Network.”

“We all share the same goals: keep people out of jail who don’t belong there or who can be meaningfully rehabilitated through alternatives to incarceration” Assistant County Administrator Wendy Petersen said. “This helps both individuals dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues, and benefits the entire community by making them productive member and easing the strain on public resources.”

Several of the nation’s leading criminal justice organizations will continue to provide technical assistance and counsel to the Pima County Safety and Justice Challenge, Pima County partners, and the other jurisdictions involved in the Challenge: the Center for Court Innovation, the Institute for State and Local Governance at the City University of New York, the Justice Management Institute, Justice System Partners, the Pretrial Justice Institute, the Vera Institute of Justice, Policy Research, Inc., and the W. Haywood Burns Institute.

More information about the work underway in Pima County can be found on Pima County’s Safety and Justice Challenge webpage as well as on the Safety and Justice Challenge website.

WASHINGTON, DC – National Association of Realtors is reporting that late last week, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations regarding the new 20 percent deduction on qualified business income. As Americans begin preparations for the 2018 tax filing season, real estate professionals have been uncertain about the true impact of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on their respective businesses. Friday’s ruling from Treasury and the IRS, however, signaled a significant victory for the real estate industry and for many of the National Association of Realtors®’ 1.3 million members.

“Friday’s ruling is a result of several months of advocacy and collaboration between NAR, our members, and the administration,” said NAR President John Smaby, a second-generation Realtor® from Edina, Minnesota and broker at Edina Realty. “These final guidelines will allow real estate professionals to benefit from the Section 199A 20 percent pass-through deduction, a move that will empower Realtors® to expand their operations and provide improved services to consumers and potential homebuyers across the country. The National Association of Realtors® is grateful for the openness and transparency encouraged by Treasury and the IRS, and we thank them for their hard work to ensure the real estate community was heard throughout this rulemaking process.”

A central component of the new tax law is a reduction of the corporate tax rate – from 35 to 21 percent. However, since nine out of ten American businesses are structured as pass-through entities rather than corporations, the Section 199A provision provides critical tax deductions for small businesses and self-employed independent contractors, which is how many real estate professionals are classified.

Within the 247-page rule issued last Friday, three major provisions for real estate professionals stood out as critical victories for members of the National Association of Realtors®.

Most importantly, the regulation clarifies that all real estate agents and brokers who are not employees but operate as sole proprietors or owners of partnerships, S corporations or limited liability companies are eligible for the new deduction, which can be as high as 20 percent. This includes those whose income exceeds the threshold of $157,500 for single filers and $315,000 for those filing a joint return.

Second, the rule simplifies the process that owners of rental real estate property must follow to claim the new deduction. As written in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, only income that is from a “trade or business” qualifies for the 20 percent write-off. However, because this distinction was not clearly defined by Congress when crafting the law, various court rulings and prior IRS guidance have caused confusion among tax professionals in determining which rental properties were merely investments and which could accurately be considered a business enterprise.

NAR strongly urged Treasury and the IRS to simplify the rules in order to give millions of rental real estate owners certainty surrounding their ability to qualify for this new deduction. Friday’s final regulations included a bright-line safe harbor test requiring at least 250 hours per year spent on maintaining and repairing property, collecting rent, paying expenses and conducting other typical landlord activities.

Finally, within the proposed regulation released last August, those who had exchanged one parcel of real estate under Section 1031 for another parcel were unfairly denied deduction eligibility. However, NAR and multiple additional trade groups concerned with commercial real estate were vocal in highlighting this shortcoming. In a positive resolution to the situation, Treasury and the IRS recognized the initial ruling was misguided and corrected the policy in Friday’s final guidance.

“NAR maintained consistent and coordinated communication with Treasury and the IRS throughout this rulemaking process. The finalized ruling, which represents a tremendous win for real estate professionals across the country, is a direct result of that engagement,” said Shannon McGahn, NAR Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. “We are thrilled to see our members emerge from this process so favorably, and we thank Treasury and the IRS for all of their hard work in ensuring consistency and clarity within these policies as America’s 1.3 million Realtors® begin filing their 2018 tax returns in the coming weeks.”

The National Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

PHOENIX, Arizona – CBRE has completed the sale of a 21,702-square-foot retail building located at 24930 S. Ellsworth Rd. in Queen Creek, Ariz. The property, which is on a long-term lease to Tractor Supply Company, traded for nearly $5.3 million. The buyer was in a 1031 exchange and obtained new financing in escrow.

Joseph R. Compagno with CBRE’s Phoenix office represented the Ariz.-based seller. Erik Barbic with Sherman & Boone Commercial represented the California-based buyer, Houser Holdings AZ, LLC.

“We received offers from eight buyers throughout the marketing period who were in search of new single-tenant investment opportunities,” said Compagno. “The buyer was approaching the end of their 1031 exchange in California and needed a long-term investment. The tenant’s long-term lease on the property combined with its highly desirable location in Queen Creek ultimately helped close the deal.”

Built in 2016, the nearly 3.98-acre property is leased to Tractor Supply Company, a publicly traded farm supply chain with 1,700 stores in 49 states. The building is situated at a rapidly expanding intersection at Ellsworth and Riggs roads.